Back in the saddle again!

Well, my hand has finally healed enough from surgery to knit again! YAY!!! With some great patterns and a lot of encouragement from Jackie E-S of HeartStrings Fiber Arts, I have made some fun things. Gave me the courage to do something more challenging. My beautiful 19-yo granddaughter, Jenn, found a pattern for the SwirlyGig Hat at KnitPicks.com that she really liked, so of course, this grandma HAD to make it!










The colors show much better in the picture of the unfinished hat.


Here is a picture of the wrist warmers I made from Jackie E-S pattern.

My current project is a pair of socks - for ME! Haven't cast on yet.The colors look a little washed out in the picture. Hopefully, when the socks are done, the colors will show up better.

I haven't been on for forever, but just gotta post about the 1 Choice 4 Quilting: It's the Nice List Giveaway! Click HERE to enter!

How to Make a 3-D Bow Tie Block

All steps, except #14 and #15, will be with wrong side facing.

 

1.           Using square of any size, fold in half (right sides together) and crease, either by finger pressing or iron.

 

         2.           Now fold in half the other way and crease.

 

3.     Bring fold at center right to upper right hand corner and pin.

 

        4.      Rotate counter clockwise and repeat step 3.

 
5.           Repeat step 4.

6.           Repeat step 5.

 

7.           Lay block on a flat surface and pat center down.

 

          8.           With threaded needle, attach thread to center of one of the folds.

9.           Run thread/needle through center of each fold, all the way around the block. DO NOT TACK.

 

           10.           Make sure you run thread/needle through first fold when you get back to it. Again, DO NOT TACK.

11.           Draw thread tight, whipstitch centers together. Remove pins.

 

12.           Press the folds together, 2 on each side, forming a straight line across the center.

 13.           Whipstitch folds together and tie off the thread.

 

14.           Turn block over and gently pull folds of bow tie in place.

 

 

15.      Gently press block.

It's All in the Name

Dawn from As Sweet as Cinnamon wants to know why the different blogs are named what they are.  She is even holding a contest if you are willing to blog why your blog is named what it is.  Go here to link up your post for the contest.

When I started my blog, I already had a website called KyleAnn's Kreations. I was a fledgling knit designer and showcased my new and kustom knit and krochet designs. I didn't think I could call my blog the same name (I wasn't computer-savvy enough then to know I could, but also wanted to avoid confusion), so I named my blog Knitting with KyleAnn (it's all about me, you know!)

Of course, back then I wasn't into quilting yet, but I saw no reason to change the name. Although, if someone were to come up with a name that I can't resist, then I just might consider changing my blog name! If you have a suggestion on what I could rename my blog, leave it in a comment below! Be nice, tho! This is a family-oriented site. :-)

Back from N.C. and Progress!

Tom and I spent nearly a week down in the mountains of North Carolina - just 10 miles away from the Tennessee border. We were at one of the TVA lakes (Hiwassee) at the "cabin" of Tom's cousin and his wife, Michael and Ann. They spent the weekend there as well. We had a wonderful time. It was so beautiful there, so relaxing, and the weather cooperated. Thanks, Michael and Ann!

I spent most of the drive down, during the visit, and the drive back knitting on the 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater I mentioned in a previous post. The back is just a rectangle - knit on the bias. And I got it down! Yay!! And I have started the front. Here is a picture of the back on the blocking mats I bought from KnitPicks.com. I can't wait for it to dry. Hopefully it won't take too long to finish the front and I can get it on the mats. In the picture, the black/white tweed looks gray. I think i will make 3/4 length sleeves for this sweater.

Almost finished with the laundry from the trip. Better go get it done!

Block Swap! and contest

Encouraged by my daughter-in-law, Mary, I joined a block swap on the internet. There are five other people in the swap. We all listed our favorite colors and our dislikes, and now we make a 12" (finished) block for each of the others. I just finished my first! And I LOVE it!!! I'm really going to hate mailing it, but I must.

I now have a few entries on my Quilt Book Club blog. If you are having trouble posting a comment, make sure your name is in your comment and set your ID as "anonymous". I now have to approve all comments, but at least they are being posted without error messages! If you name is not in your comment, I will no longer be able to approve it. And remember, you have four opportunities to win the drawing, so make sure you make a separate comment for each one that applies to you!

Hope to see tons of entries!!

Time for a New Knitting Project

Peggy Shawl by Heartstrings Fiber Arts

I haven't been knitting much because I am having to re-train my left hand. But I finally completed another Peggy Shawl that I started in February with a sport-weight yarn. Been playing a little with another shawl in a DK yarn. Now I am going to try a tried-and-true sweater pattern. It's the 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater by Heartstrings Fiber Arts. I have made several of these but have, (throat clearing), outgrown them. They are such a joy to make - so easy and fairly quick. You can use any yarn with appropriate size needles to create the sweater that correctly fits YOU. No worries about meeting gauge, etc. You really ought to check it out!

3-to-2 Sweater

I have no idea what the yarn is that I am going to use. It's just a HUGE cone of yarn, probably synthetic, MAYBE a blend. It's a black/gray tweed and I am using size 7 (US) needles. Don't know how long my hands will last, but I will certainly give it a try!